I have so much in common with Steve Jones. We both grew up in small towns in Northern Ontario, used music to cope through our small town isolation, went on to write music-based books, and now we both speak on what can be learned from music and applied to various aspects of work and life. And this week, we sit down and shed light on our intriguing similarities.

We chat about Sudbury, The Violent Femmes, Bob Marley’s Canadian connection, the story behind that little laugh that can be heard if you listen closely at the beginning of The Police’s “Roxanne”, and how the music we both chose offered Steve and I the community we desperately needed as kids. A truly enjoyable conversation for me. 

Jones’ playlist:

Morrisey – Suedehead

Bob Marley – Redemption Song

The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter

Warren Zevon – Lawyers, Guns, and Money

Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run

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This week marks the first time I’ve ever hosted a full band in the NSTS studios, and that band was the very talented Jessica Rhaye and the Ramshackle Parade. Jessica’s new record Just Like A Woman dropped last month, and the band stopped in to talk about it and also to discuss some skin-vibrating songs – each band member brought in one each.

They wrap the show by playing Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” live, and you’re not going to want to miss it. It’s damn good.         

Rhaye’s playlist:

Robyn Hitchcock – 1974 (Chris) 

Joe Henry – Our Song (Clinton)

John Hartford – The First Girl I Loved (Bill)

Buffy Sainte Marie – You Got To Run (Sandy)

Jann Arden – Unloved (Jessica) 

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My pal Kevin Comeau, guitarist of Crown Lands, drops in this week for an impromptu chat on the latest with the band and what it’s been like opening up for Jack White and Rival Sons across North America.He came up with his song list on the drive over.           

As always, Kev and I have a great chat, and after we talk about Crown Lands heading down to Nashville to record the new album, the conversation goes into some interesting places – his interest in coffee on tour, why Saskatchewan is so underrated, Jack White’s vocal warmup routine, The Goonies, Tool and modal jazz, and if bands were sandwiches, what Crown Lands, Motorhead, and Queensryche would be. I love this guy.   

Comeau’s playlist:

All Them Witches – Am I Going Up

Elder – Dead Roots Stirring

John Carpenter – Escape From New York Soundtrack

Haim – Nothing’s Wrong 

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I’ve been talking forever about music’s ability to elicit an emotional response. My guest this week is musician Rob Carli, and he’s created a special campaign that embodies this very idea – The Awesome Music Project. 

Rob and his business partner Terry Stuart created The Awesome Music Project as a collection of stories detailing music’s transformative impact on people, which eventually developed into a book and a campaign whose goal is to build a community that can accelerate mental health solutions using music. The book is incredible, full of stories from celebrities and everyday people alike, who have been positively impacted by music in some way. It launches everywhere Thursday October 10, Mental Health Day, and it’s available for pre-order on the AMP website. This is a great cause, one I fully endorse. Get your copy today!      

Carli’s playlist:

Skye Wallace – Not Ready for This To Start

Led Zeppelin – The Rain Song

Rheostatics – Queer

Tame Impala – Led Zeppelin

Anderson Paak – Make It Better

Aretha Franklin – Eleanor Rigby

Vampire Weekend – Rich Man

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Garage rockers Alissa Klug and Brendan Albert of Queens & Kings join me on the show this week, celebrating the release of their hot new single and video “You Got Me”.    

We play a snippet from the single and talk about some songs that make their skin vibrate, in addition to other topics like stage fright, photography, Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder, and where the intensity of their music really comes from. 

Queens & Kings playlist:

PJ Harvey – Grow Grow Grow

The Kills – Last Day of Magic

Temple of the Dog – Hunger Strike

Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows

Bucky James & Alissa Vox Raw – Walkin’ the Fine Line

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Julian Taylor drops by the NSTS studios this week to talk skin-vibrating tunes. His new record Avalanche is a funk and soul tour de force, and if you haven’t heard it yet, you should. Julian is a super talented musician and songwriter who should be a lot bigger than he is. 

We chat about his old band Staggered Crossing, a band I’ve loved since the late 90s, and lots of other stuff – the Funk Brothers, what sounds good and what doesn’t sound good driving in his new ’66 Mustang, bagpipe solos, hanging with Noel Gallagher, and more. But my favourite part of his visit was him playing an acoustic version of Staggered tune “Further Again”. You’re gonna love it.           

Taylor’s playlist:

Sturgill Simpson – All Around You

Mipso – People Change

The Frighteners – Nothing More To Say

Greyhounds – What’s On Your Mind

John Farnham – You’re the Voice

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No Sleep ’til Sudbury is back with Canada’s Queen of Punk, Bif Naked! 

Bif’s achieved a lot of things – topping charts with hit singles, beating cancer, and performing in Lilith Fair to name a few. We talk about the 20th anniversary of Lilith Fair and lots more – Desmond Child, New Wave, where I Bificus came from, Sudbury, protest songs, Iron Maiden and Madonna, and her upcoming seniors burlesque school. I love this woman.  

Naked’s playlist:

Foxy Brown – Hot Spot

Asking Alexandria – Moving On

Grimes – Realiti

Tarkan – Kuzu Kuzu

Belly – Now They’ll Sleep

Youssou N’Dour – No More

New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle

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My guest this week is Brainsights CEO Kevin Keane, whose organization measures brain activity and more specifically, emotional and physiological reactions to stimuli. Fascinating stuff.

Not surprisingly, Kevin also possesses a massive appreciation for the propensity for music to make our skin vibrate, and he shares some incredibly personal experiences he’s had in this regard. Conversations like this one define my reasons for doing this show.

NOTE: NSTS will be on vacation next week, returning to regular programming the week of September 9. Cheers everyone!        

Keane’s playlist:

Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey 

Elton John – Your Song

Radiohead – High and Dry

Simon & Garfunkel – The Boxer

Pearl Jam – Black

Fela Kuti – Suffering and Smiling 

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The conclusion of my discussion with Twisted Sister founder and guitarist John ‘Jay Jay’ French airs this week, and what a discussion it was. His playlist is centred around John’s summer spent in London in 1972 and the music he experienced there, but the span of our chat is limitless. 

We talk about motivational speaking, the similarities of our top five records, continued reinvention, the one question he would ask The Beatles, riding a stolen motorcycle on Broadway in New York in the 60s, his perspectives on previous Twisted Sister members who abused alcohol, the details behind each of the six beers he’s ever had over the course of his life, and how The Rolling Stones and his other records got him through the day. He’s also a stickler for music trivia, and he tests my knowledge on the British Invasion (spoiler alert – I fail). 

French’s playlist (Part II):

Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up

Curtis Mayfield – Super Fly

The Temptations – Papa Was A Rolling Stone

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He’s back! Twisted Sister founder and guitarist John Jay Jay French joins me via Skype this week for part one of a very lengthy chat about all manner of musical subjects.

In part one, John and I talk about the recording of Twisted Sister record Under The Blade at the site of The Battle of Hastings, best of Beatles versus best of Stones, his guitar collection, four hundred thousand dollar turntables, the summer he spent in England in 1971, and so much more. And that’s only part one!  

French’s playlist (part one):

The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar

Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tells A Story

The Who – Baba O’ Riley

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